The Cardinal and the Princess
by Caiwen Nallron
Summary: AU. Masaki is the Ichijou Clan's heiress—the Crimson Princess. She attends the 9SC as a First Year, and Shiba Tatsuya falls in love with her at first sight. But Cardinal George is in love with Masaki, just like Miyuki is in love with Tatsuya. What chaos will Masaki and Tatsuya's chance meeting cause? Parody of the anime. Gender-bent. Story-flipped.
1. The Crush

**Rating:** T+ for foul language

 **Disclaimer:** "The Irregular at Magic High School" is the property of Satou Tsutomu. The fanfic author is not making any money from this story.

 **Blurb:** AU. Masaki is the Ichijou Clan's heiress—the Crimson Princess. She attends the 9SC as a First Year, and Shiba Tatsuya falls in love with her at first sight. But Cardinal Kichijouji is in love with Masaki, just like Miyuki is in love with Tatsuya. What chaos will Masaki and Tatsuya's chance meeting cause? Gender-swapped. Story-flipped.

 **Author's Note #1:** Parody of the anime (as in, just the anime, not the LN, too). Gender-swapped. Story-flipped.

 **#2:** Because it is an inherent part of Miyuki's character that she calls Tatsuya "Oniisama," I'm going to use the Japanese term since English has no equivalent. So for those who aren't aware, "oniisama" roughly translates into English as "honored older brother" or "esteemed older brother."

 **Name Order:** I prefer to render Japanese names as they truly are—surname first—even when writing in English.

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

Kichijouji Shinkurou entered the banquet hall of the hotel and glanced around the room. Hundreds of students filled the area, all the boys with uniforms like his own, except in different colors. However, there was only one person whom the boy nicknamed Cardinal George was looking for: Ichijou Masaki.

A curtain of long, red hair caught his attention, and he headed for the girl in question, who—as usual—was surrounded by a half-dozen guys. Masaki was not only the eldest daughter in the Ichijou clan, but she also was the most beautiful girl in Third High. And Kichijouji was in love with her. Not infatuated, like the other boys. In love.

Then again, it was hard _not_ to fall in love with a girl who pulled you out of a bomb shelter and whisked you off to safety. On the worst day of Kichijouji's life—the day of the Sado Island invasion, when his parents were killed—Ichijou Masaki and her father's volunteer unit had saved him. Then the Ichijou clan had taken him in.

And so Kichijouji stopped by his best friend, the tall girl with her bright smile and confident demeanor, and gave his "competition" a pointed look. _Hands off, boys. I'm the one who will become Masaki's boyfriend._

"Jouji!" Masaki grinned at Kichijouji. "Let's go check out our rooms, okay? I hope they're close together."

The boys gave a collective wail, and one boy descended into theatrics, throwing his hand over his heart as though he'd been slain.

Masaki glanced around with a look of puzzled surprise. "What did I say?"

Kichijouji grinned. "Oh, it's nothing. They just all wish their rooms were close to yours." He shot the other boys a sly smile. "Or maybe they wish they were _sharing_ a room with you." He supposed he was being cruel, but the Masaki Male Harem could amuse him greatly. Sometimes.

"But Ichijou-chan made it sound like she wants to share a room with you, Kichijouji-kun," the theatrical boy said, his tone whiny.

Masaki recoiled from the group of boys. "What?" She looked between them and Kichijouji for a moment. Then she grabbed Kichijouji's hand and took off with him. "Don't be silly!" she called over her shoulder. "He's basically my adopted brother!"

They ran all the way down the hall and up the stairs, Masaki laughing. Kichijouji was more than happy to be pulled along as long as she was holding his hand, but he still cringed at the "brother" remark. _As long as you think like that, my chances aren't good._

"Come on," Masaki said as she opened the door to the second floor. She avoided elevators when possible, preferring the exercise. "Let's see where our rooms are."

Kichijouji dug his keycard out of his pants pocket and checked the number. Third High had arrived late enough in the day that most students had gone straight to the banquet and let the hotel staff take their luggage to their rooms. "I'm 241."

"I'm 222." Masaki frowned. The second floor was deserted, and they wandered around looking for the right numbers. "I really do wish we could share a room. You don't suppose if I explain we're siblings, they'll let us?"

Kichijouji blushed miserably. It was true that the Ichijou had taken him in so that they could save him from the infamous magicians' orphanages, but Kichijouji had moved into the dorms at Third High when he'd been accepted there. And he'd done that for one basic reason: so Masaki would stop seeing him as her slightly younger brother. _I'm glad that you love me, but I want you to be_ in _love with me._ "I doubt it. They're super strict about keeping the boys and girls apart. We're lucky we can even visit each other's rooms, considering."

Masaki sighed. "That's stupid. This is our first year of high school. I don't know anyone yet. What if I need something in the middle of the night? Or you do? They should make exceptions."

 _Well, that's a bit of an overstatement,_ Kichijouji thought. _You have all sorts of friends, and you've had them for three months now._ "Oh? And what would we _need_?" _Whoa, that sounded sexual. Oops._ "Well, never mind. We better get back to the banquet and mingle. The guest speaker hasn't even arrived yet."

"Ugh. Do I have to?" Masaki faced Kichijouji. "You know what? I hate this. It's a farce. I know all those boys downstairs only want to talk to me because I'm an heiress. Their parents probably even ordered them to do it." She frowned. "You're the only one who sees me for me."

"Well, I think their obsession is actually with how pretty you are," Kichijouji said, "and maybe also how smart and magically powerful you are. But either way, it's true. They don't know the real you." He lowered his gaze. "And you're right: I do see you for you."

Masaki reached out, squeezing Kichijouji's shoulder. "That's what makes you special."

"Thank you," Kichijouji murmured, blushing. _Could you ever see me as a man—a potential husband?_

"And because you're special, if anyone tries to hurt you, I'll _kill_ them." Masaki grinned. "So don't worry about anything, okay?"

Kichijouji had a mental picture of Masaki using Rupture to explode someone from the inside-out. He chuckled. "Ah—okay." He grinned impishly. "You know, you're almost like my Manic Pixie Dream Girl."

Masaki laughed.

"All right." Kichijouji had sighted his room, so he headed to back to the banquet hall. "Let's hang in there long enough to see the guest speaker. Supposedly, it's going to be the patriarch of the Ten Master Clans."

"If you _insist_."

They returned downstairs and reentered the banquet hall, Masaki groaning the whole way. They stopped a server and got two flutes of non-alcoholic champagne. A girl passed by them, heading toward a refreshment table. She was pale-skinned and unusually curvaceous for a Japanese girl. She had long black hair and big blue eyes.

"See that girl?" Kichijouji murmured. "Her name is Shiba Miyuki. She's one of the First High contestants that you'll be competing against in Ice Pillars and Mirage Bat."

"A 'sex bomb' type, huh?" Masaki said.

To their left, a group of boys from Third High burst into whispers at the sight of Shiba Miyuki. Kichijouji heard a few predictable phrases like "She's so hot" and "She's outta your league, man."

Masaki rolled her eyes. "Do you hear those idiots? If she looks like that—especially with such huge breasts—she's been genetically engineered by her parents."

"Well, if she was genetically engineered to be a magical powerhouse, too, you need to watch out for her," Kichijouji said. "She might have been engineered right into superhuman status." He glanced at Masaki. "And whatever you do, don't say the words 'I'll win for sure.' Because if you do, you're automatically jinxed to lose no matter what. It's such a done deal that you could bet your family's entire multi-billion yen fortune on it."

Shiba Miyuki walked past them again, heading back the way she'd come. She stopped by a tall, slender boy with dark hair. He wasn't particularly outstanding to look at; just a typical Japanese boy. He did strike Kichijouji as possessing an air of determination, though.

Suddenly the other boy was staring their way, right past Miyuki.

Masaki froze. "Why is that boy staring at me?" she whispered to Kichijouji. Then she paled. "Do you think he overheard my crack about the girl? I bet they're boyfriend and girlfriend."

"He's too far away to hear," Kichijouji said.

Miyuki followed the boy's line-of-sight and then frowned at Masaki.

It was then that Kichijouji noticed a faint blush on the boy's cheeks. _Oh, no. Really? As if it wasn't bad enough to have Third High guys hanging all over Masaki._

* * *

Over by the wall, Shiba Tatsuya stared at the redheaded beauty in the Third High uniform. The red jacket matched her hair perfectly and drew out her blue-green eyes. For the first time in his entire life, he felt a stirring of heat in his body as he gazed at the girl.

Miyuki stared up at her brother and frowned. "Oniisama? It's not like you to notice _girls_."

Tatsuya glanced at his sister and turned away, deliberately breaking his line of sight with the girl. "It's not like that. I was only surprised. I didn't expect to see the Ichijou heiress and Cardinal George together. You're going to have stiff competition, Miyuki. Don't underestimate the Crimson Princess."

"Oh." Miyuki turned a glare upon the girl. "I didn't recognize her at first, but you're right: that's Ichijou Masaki." She shrugged. "I've only seen her in pictures." She turned back to Tatsuya. "Well, I'm not worried. I have Oniisama to fine-tune my CAD!"

Tatsuya shook his head. "You should be worried. I can't win this battle for you, Miyuki. Only you can do that. Try your hardest. The Crimson Princess earned her nickname on the battlefield. She was a volunteer soldier during the Sado Island invasion."

"Right," Miyuki murmured. She bowed her head. "I'll follow your advice, Oniisama. I've trained hard, and I won't let you down. I'll prove to be worthy of you, Oniisama."

 _Now, how can I meet Ichijou Masaki before the competition against Miyuki?_ Tatsuya asked himself. He wanted a chance to talk to her. "You should go spend more time with the others. They're getting upset."

Miyuki glanced toward the refreshment table, where all the Blooms were gathered, the boys glaring at Tatsuya and the girls smiling at her. "All right, Oniisama. But don't forget you have friends here, too." She glided back to the table, turning her face away from Ichijou Masaki and Cardinal George as she passed them.

 _Good,_ she thought. _I stopped that before it started. I can't imagine anything worse than Oniisama having a crush on the Crimson Princess._

* * *

That night, Masaki decided to visit the indoor hot spring in the hotel basement. The hotel staff said it would be open until 11:00 p.m.

She showered off and wrapped a towel around herself, then headed to the hot spring itself. To her surprise, she found a group of unfamiliar girls present. They all eyed her as she stepped in, sitting on the built-in bench and letting the hot water rise up until it halfway covered her breasts.

A red-headed girl and a black-haired girl stared at her breasts and blushed.

A short, thin, brown-haired girl looked Masaki over with a stoic expression. "You're Ichijou Masaki of Third High, aren't you?" Her voice had little inflection.

"Yes, that's right. It's nice to meet you. This is a great hot spring, isn't it?" Masaki didn't really want to be sitting among her competition, considering it could lead to social awkwardness.

"Oh, the Crimson Princess!" a blonde-haired girl exclaimed. She blushed and looked away. "You're—you're lucky, you know. Shiba Tatsuya was checking you out earlier."

" _Honoka_ ," the short girl intoned.

Honoka ducked her head. "Well, he was."

"Checking me out?" Masaki said. "I thought he was just staring." She paused. "Um . . . _Shiba_ Tatsuya? As in, Shiba Miyuki? They're related?"

"Siblings," the short girl said.

 _They look nothing alike,_ Masaki thought, shocked.

"He's a genius," Honoka said, staring off into the steam wistfully. "If he asked you out, you'd be the luckiest girl on the planet." She focused on Masaki again, a painful blush in her cheeks. "Is he . . . Is he your type?"

Masaki laughed with embarrassment. "What?" She tried to dodge the question. "I don't even know him!"

The short girl raised one eyebrow, although she remained otherwise expressionless. "I saw you standing with Cardinal George earlier. Is he your boyfriend?"

"No, he can't be!" the black-haired girl said to the other girl. She turned to Masaki. "He's five inches shorter than you are! And he looks twelve years old."

"He's my age!" Masaki snapped.

"Oh." The redheaded girl unsuccessfully hid a smile behind her hand. "I bet you're the shotacon type. By choosing the Cardinal, you can be legal and have a boyfriend, too."

"I'm not a shotacon!"

"If you all don't stop, we're going to end up in a blood bath instead of a hot spring," the short girl joked, deadpan.

The redheaded girl laughed and then turned her gaze upon Honoka. "Never mind all that. I have to say, I'm impressed." Her gaze was pinned on Honoka's rather large breasts. "You're really well-endowed." She waggled her fingers at Honoka as though she would touch them.

"Hey! We're all girls here!" Honoka blushed and crossed her arms over her chest.

The short girl stood up and climbed out of the hot spring, walking away stiffly.

Masaki wondered if the girl were offended.

The red-headed girl glanced Masaki's way. "No offense, Crimson Princess, but you're also amazing." She waggled her fingers in Masaki's general direction and then giggled.

 _Whoa, what the hell? I don't even know your name!_ "I have to go to bed." Masaki stood up and backed out of the hot spring. "Nice meeting you all. Bye!" She nearly ran to the dressing room.

Shiba Miyuki entered while Masaki was toweling off. Miyuki looked at Masaki, smiled politely, and inclined her head. Then went on her way, not speaking.

From the hot springs room, squeals and laughter and mock arguments erupted.

Right before Miyuki stepped out to join the other girls, she glanced over her bare shoulder and frowned at Masaki. Then she was gone.

 _What was that for? I'm not responsible for your brother looking at me,_ Masaki thought grumpily. She changed into her clothes and went back to her room.

* * *

Kichijouji walked with Masaki through the hallways, the florescent lights buzzing over their heads. The competition had been officially underway for a few days, and Third High was disgruntled.

"Our boys are doing well," Kichijouji said, more to reassure himself than anything. "It wasn't just that I took first place in Speed Shooting, we swept the board in that event." He sighed. "But our school is still in second place overall, thanks to that Shiba Tatsuya guy."

Masaki stretched her arms. "Yeah. He's turned into a real pain in the ass. I forgot to tell you that guy got me teased in the hot spring the other night. I accidentally walked into a meeting of the First High Tatsuya Fan Club." She sighed. "They seemed to think it should be a great honor for me that Shiba Tatsuya is looking at me."

Kichijouji glanced up at Masaki. "So he has his own harem already? Well, that's probably the only thing you two have in common, given your reserve harem." His sighed. "He's definitely a pain in the ass. He's got professional-level CAD engineering skills, and he's using them at a high school competition. Your assessment at our meeting was right: he's a beast."

They rounded the corner, and as though summoned, Shiba Tatsuya and Shiba Miyuki were walking right toward them.

"Speak of Cao Cao, and he appears," Kichijouji muttered, using an old Chinese saying.

"Don't give him the credit," Masaki murmured. "If anyone's Cao Cao here, you are." She lifted her chin and stared the Shiba siblings down.

Kichijouji took the reply as the compliment it was intended to be. _The Romance of the Three Kingdoms_ had unfairly maligned the historical figure of Cao Cao, who had been a brilliant tactician and commander, as well as a responsible ruler.

Tatsuya stopped dead in his tracks, but Kichijouji could tell just from watching him that Tatsuya wasn't surprised to see them.

Miyuki was, though. Her eyes widened.

"Go ahead and get ready," Tatsuya said.

"Are you sure?" Miyuki frowned up at him.

"I'm sure."

"As you wish, Oniisama." Miyuki passed by Masaki, shooting her a sideways frown as she did.

Kichijouji ignored Miyuki until she was gone. "How may we assist you, Shiba-san?"

"Do you think you need assistance? You're doing awfully well for your school," Masaki said.

Tatsuya looked briefly flustered. "I know this is irregular of me, and I apologize. Our paths would never cross naturally. I wished for a chance to meet you."

"You're right. It is irregular," Masaki said.

Kichijouji folded his arms behind his back, adopting his typical 'strategist stance.' "Oh? And why would you wish to meet us? Because you're hoping Masaki won't beat your sister?" _Please, by all means say she'll absolutely win, because that means she'll automatically lose._

"No," Tatsuya said. "I'm not worried about that. Miyuki can handle herself." He paused. A faint blush colored his cheeks.

Masaki sighed. "Oh, god. Just be a man and say it."

Tatsuya bowed. "I have nothing but respect for you. I'm sorry I bothered you." He glided away.

Kichijouji cringed. "I have to say, I almost feel sorry for that guy now. If you gave me a sit-down like that I'd be traumatized for life."

Masaki glanced at him. "But I wouldn't do that to you. It's not the same. You actually know me. Shiba-san's crush on me is just not realistic. What would he accomplish? We live on opposite sides of Japan, and we'll only ever see each other twice a year at school competitions. How could anyone _really_ maintain a crush that way? I'll fade from his mind by the end of the month. Maybe sooner."

"Well, that's logical," Kichijouji said. "Even people who have crushes on idols plaster their bedroom walls with posters they can stare at. Shiba-san won't even have that much." He smirked. "And if he did make a poster of you, that would just make him a stalker."

Masaki laughed. "True." She paused. "Doesn't it bother you that Shiba-san not only is endangering our chances at winning, but he's also homing in on your best friend?" She grinned. "I thought you'd be a little more protective."

Kichijouji's shoulders jerked, and he looked away, blushing. "Oh. Right. Sorry. But you're so powerful in your own right it seems insulting to think of you in that way." He headed down the hallway with Masaki. "I don't want to be one of those men who acts like his female friends and his wife are helpless just because they're women, even though they're magical powerhouses." He stared at the floor as he walked.

Masaki reached out and briefly squeezed Kichijouji's hand. "Oh." She felt foolish for teasing him. "Right. And I'm glad you don't treat me that way. It's 2095, after all. Ridiculous notions of women's incompetence should have died out a century ago. In fact, they did." She frowned at the doors as they approached them. "It's sad that we lost practically all of our advances toward human rights and equal rights because of World War III. Why should a war cause us to lose our hard-won enlightenment?"

"It shouldn't have," Kichijouji said. His hand still tingled from the quick squeeze Masaki had given it. Despite the seriousness of their conversation, he couldn't help thinking of Shiba Tatsuya and the way Masaki had given him a sit-down.

 _Yes,_ Kichijouji thought. _Pick me instead. I'll love you forever. Heart, mind, body, and soul, I'm yours._

* * *

 _Postscript author's note: The Monolith Code is up next!_


	2. Monolith Code

_**A/N**_ _: Reminder—this is a parody of the anime and is_ _ **story-flipped**_ _, not just gender-bent._

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

Masaki and Kichijouji stood against the wall at the side of the stadium and watched Shiba Tatsuya's team competing in the Monolith Code.

"So let me get this straight," Kichijouji drawled. "First High loses their team by a fault not their own. Then they get to replace their team—okay, fine—but with three people who weren't even signed up for the competition and when they still have boys who haven't participated in two events. How is this fair, exactly?" He frowned up at Masaki. "Never mind. I don't feel bad for Shiba. I just want him out of my way."

Masaki laughed, but she quickly grew serious. "So, how would you defeat him, Jouji?"

"First and foremost, I am not going to say the words 'My victory is assured.' Because if I do, I'll lose immediately." Kichijouji frowned at the huge screen on the blimp, watching Tatsuya blow away a boy's spell. "That's Gram Demolition!" He stared in horror. "Okay, I wasn't expecting that. Close quarters combat is definitely out of the question. That spell is short-range, but other than that, it has no drawbacks." He peered up at Masaki. "What I really need is _you_. Why aren't girls allowed to participate in Monolith Code?"

Masaki shrugged. "Is that a serious question?"

"Yes." Kichijouji crossed his arms as well. "We can't compete without three participants, and Iga-kun isn't going to be released from the hospital for another two days. It turns out that his leg has a compound fracture." He glared at the blimp's screen. "And the committee wanted to disqualify us! The only reason they didn't is because Iga-kun's injury didn't happen during Monolith Code." He paused. _The loss of my teammate for Monolith Code is oddly similar to the way students from First High keep getting hurt. What is the deal here?_

"So gracious of them," Masaki drawled sarcastically.

Kichijouji frowned. "The committee said we had to choose a boy off our roster who doesn't have two events already. But I want you. After all, Shiba Miyuki has been bumped up to the regular division for Mirage Bat—again, due to a student's injury. And since you don't get to compete against her in Mirage Bat, we don't have to worry about having our best girl in that event now. So I say, if First High gets to shift around all their people in order to best suit their needs, we should get to also."

"All right. I'll petition to get myself added to your team." Masaki slanted a grim smile at Kichijouji. "These events were created by sexist old farts who want to see girls in pretty dresses and boys play war games. We'll call them on their attitude. And as long as we cite my combat experience, they should let me in."

Kichijouji nodded. "All right. But you'll have to throw your clan's weight around, too. Word has it that that's how First High did it. Jumonji Katsou went in and used his power as the acting head of his clan to talk the committee into what he wanted. As much as you hate pulling rank, I think you're going to have to. After all, we'll be setting the precedent of the first female Monolith Code player." He snorted. "Of course, then again, First High just set the precedents for replacing an entire team, using unregistered players, using course two students, and using one of their engineering staff. Surely we can squeak past." He threw up both hands. "Oh, no! I implied we would win this fight. Dammit!" He held up his hands toward the sky. "I take it back! I take it back!"

Masaki shook her head, smiling. "Relax. We're going up against The Shiba Tatsuya, who is a verified genius. We could just as easily say we have zero chance of winning. But I'll pull rank and get in anyway."

Kichijouji did relax. "Right. That's fair enough. Just watch out for his traps, and maybe we at least won't make fools out of ourselves. I can't shake the feeling he has live combat experience. More than anything, you can expect him to be a genius strategist. Well, and also a genius at programming his own CAD. Okay, well, also he was moving so fast in this match he probably has mastered ninjustu. Oh, wait. He can also use Gram Demolition, and no one's ever seen that before. Oh yeah, and I heard he wrote the CAD program for the girl in the Speed Shooting event—you know, the spell that's being inducted by Magic University as a new type of magic—so apparently he can also write new spells." He sighed. "Okay, so he's amazing. So we're doomed." He smiled at Masaki. "But I'm not going down without a fight."

Masaki took Kichijouji's hand and squeezed it. "We're going to fight together for the very first time. That's special enough to bear losing."

"Agreed," Kichijouji said, a happy blush tingling his cheeks. _She clasped my hand again!_ At this point, he felt like he could face anything.

* * *

On the open plains stage, Kichijouji stood by Masaki, both of them suited up and helmets on. A massive crowd had turned out—all of First High's attendees, all of Third High's, plus a large sample of others there to see the first female Monolith Code contestant face off with the underdog genius. On top of that, there was general buzz about the Crimson Princess and Cardinal George paired up to fight.

Kichijouji glared at Tatsuya's teammates, who were wearing weird cloaks. "Who would have thought he had another trick up his sleeve?" His brow furrowed. "It's true that I can't use Invisible Bullet if I can't see the target, but cloth alone won't stop it. What's his angle?"

"He's the same person who writes new magic, remember?" Masaki murmured. "Assume those cloaks are dangerous. No, assume they're disastrous and do something like bolster the power of the magicians wearing them. That would give them an advantage over us. Don't go in. We need to change our strategy now."

Kichijouji had sixty seconds to brainstorm a completely new battle plan. He stared at Masaki. "You're the one with the strongest long-range and wide-area magic. We still need you to cover most of the field." _Think. Think!_ "Wait. Let me go in as though I'm facing Shiba instead. I'll use every spell I know if I have to. You take out the other two guys. I'll do my best to keep Shiba from turning toward you before you've KO'ed those others. Then we'll team up on Shiba." He glanced at his third teammate, the defender. "Daiichi, your strategy will remain as planned." He turned to Masaki. "What do you think?"

In the distance, the signal began counting down.

Masaki nodded and double-checked her CAD. "We'll do it."

The starting horn blared.

"Let's go!" Masaki charged towards the enemy monolith, firing a steady stream of Air Bullets.

Kichijouji took off, keeping pace with Masaki. He had a brief moment to wonder what it looked like to everyone else to see a redheaded warrior princess racing onto the battlefield, glaring.

For a moment, Shiba Tatsuya didn't seem to move at all. Then he broke into a run, too, raising both of his guns and firing.

Kichijouji shot off six Invisible Bullets in rapid succession, only to watch Tatsuya tear them apart with Gram Demolition. _It's all right. I just need to keep him off of Masaki and away from Daiichi._

Masaki halted before she got too close to her opponents, maintaining her long distance advantage. However, the tall boy revealed that his sword CAD could separate. One half flew toward Masaki, and she launched herself into a complicated forward somersault to avoid the sword and shot another spell at him, aiming upside down. She landed, and the boy crashed to the ground. She whirled and shot down the ancient magic caster before he could fire off a retaliation spell.

Having seen Masaki headed for his teammates, Tatsuya had changed direction. Kichijouji fired off four more Invisible Bullets, but Tatsuya used Gram Demolition to destroy them without even looking at where he was firing.

 _How the hell do you hit something you're not even looking at?_ Kichijouji wondered, giving chase. _There really is a god, and he's a sixteen-year-old Japanese boy._

Again, without even looking, Tatsuya fired a spell Kichijouji's way, striking him right in the chest. _Oscillation type,_ Kichijouji registered, even as he fell to his hands and knees. He ended up with double vision, and all of his insides seemed to vibrate. He nearly vomited. _Take him out, Masaki! I at least kept him busy for you—just long enough._

Masaki was already on it. She stood her ground, not getting close to Tatsuya, and shot a dozen Air Bullets at once. "Dodge this!"

Kichijouji watched with unblinking shock as Tatsuya dismantled eleven of the twelve Air Bullets. _Can that really be instinct or intuition?_ Only the final one formed and fired. Tatsuya jumped clear of it, clearly using ninjutsu—or, at the very least, high-level taijustu.

But Tatsuya was distracted trying to dodge Masaki, which left him open. Kichijouji slammed Tatsuya with weight-plus magic, holding him to the ground. "Masaki! Again!"

Masaki shot off a dozen more Air Bullets. Sweat beaded her brow.

Tatsuya dismantled Kichijouji's spell, jumping to his feet. He flipped and spun, shooting at the new round of Air Bullets.

Masaki took careful aim.

As Tatsuya shattered the first ten spells, somersaulting through the air, there was an instant in which his back was turned away.

Masaki squeezed the trigger.

Tatsuya's eyes widened at the sound of the new spell. His body rotated right side up just in time for Masaki's spell to hit him in the chest. He flew back and bounced along the ground as the other two spells each impacted him. He rolled to a stop, gasping and shuddering.

Then he dragged himself to his feet.

Masaki froze.

 _How can he possibly stand up?_ Kichijouji thought. _He really is a god!_ He flicked out his hand, hitting Tatsuya with another weight-plus spell and slamming him into the ground.

Simultaneously, Masaki fired another Air Bullet at Tatsuya.

This time, Tatsuya didn't get up.

The horn sounded, ending the match.

Masaki fell to her knees. _Shit! What_ is _this guy? How did he just stand up like that?_ She crawled to Kichijouji. "You did well, my strategist. I'm proud of you."

Hearing those words gave Kichijouji a surge of pure love, washing away his lingering discomfort from the oscillation spell. "You were truly amazing." He smiled. "I knew you could do it. You're peerless. I just knew better than to say so prior to having our victory in hand."

Even from where he sat, Kichijouji could hear the Third High students screaming and clapping. Monolith Code, even as a rookie event, was worth enough points to put them in the lead.

"The Cardinal and the Princess won," Kichijouji said, chuckling. "Sounds like a fairytale." _But will my fairytale end with marriage to the princess?_ "And if this is a fairytale, then I have one simple question: Will you be my date to the ball?"

Masaki hugged Kichijouji. "Yes." Then she glanced up and saw they were still up on the blimp's big screen. Their PDA was on full display. She blushed. "Oh, no. You've got to be kidding."

Half the stadium erupted with fresh cheers, whistles, and cat-calls.

Masaki groaned.

Kichijouji blushed as well, his entire body tingling from that hug, but he laughed. "Well, now that they've seen that, I'm sure they'll accuse me of siscon, and you of brocon, but they'll just be teasing us. We're conveniently not actually related. And despite all the ribbing we're going to take today, it's still the best day ever."

* * *

When Kichijouji entered the ballroom with Masaki on his arm, he could have died of happiness. _I'm going ballroom dancing with Masaki! Now_ this _is the best day ever._

They headed toward a group of their classmates.

"I'm honestly surprised Third High won," Kichijouji murmured. "Especially since Shiba Miyuki cheated during the semi-finals of Mirage Bat by using flying magic. At least the committee agreed that it was cheating and let the other girls access it. Still, it's not like they had time to train with it first the way Shiba-san did. I feel bad for our girl. She was a third year, after all. She won't get the chance to compete again."

Masaki nodded. "True. I'm just glad I had a chance to fight a genius like Shiba Tatsuya—and even defeat him." She smiled.

"It was impressive," Kichijouji murmured. He gave her arm a squeeze. "You know what? I heard that even Retsu Kudou showed up just to watch Shiba fight. Amazing, right?"

"Then I guess no one can really say Shiba is an underdog anymore," Masaki said. "If Retsu-sama showed up to watch him, then Shiba is incredibly special."

To their shock, as soon as Kichijouji and Masaki saw the First High students, the genius in question came out of the pack and approached them.

Tatsuya bowed stiffly. "Ichijou Masaki. I have thought a great deal about your words to me, and I appreciate your honesty. Because you have told me to express myself straightforwardly, I will do so." He rose, and an awkward pause followed. His gaze slid to the side, as though he weren't used to being this social. "May I have your number?"

Masaki almost fell over. "What?"

 _What?_ Kichijouji thought, stunned.

"Engaging you in combat has only made me respect you more," Tatsuya said. "You proved why you earned such a formidable reputation during your service on Sado Island. Even if you had lost to me, I would still have taken your measure as someone worthy of respect."

Masaki flushed. _How am I supposed to respond to that?_ "Well, I can't say we're strangers now, but to ask for my number . . . I mean, we aren't exactly friends."

Tatsuya inclined his head and didn't look up again. "I understand."

Kichijouji sighed. _You're so socially awkward I can tell you don't have many friends—or if you do, you haven't had them for long. And you've probably never had a girlfriend._ He wanted to shoot himself, but he felt bad for Tatsuya again. Tatsuya had probably been incredibly lonely, and as someone who was orphaned during the invasion, Kichijouji understood loneliness.

Kichijouji released Masaki's arm and gave Tatsuya a smile. "You two should dance."

Tatsuya's head snapped up. His eyes widened.

Masaki flushed even hotter. "We should?"

Kichijouji made a shooing motion with his hand. "Go dance. After all, Shiba-san will only ever get this once chance to dance with you." _And meanwhile, I intend to marry you._

Masaki's blush receded. She met Tatsuya's gaze again. "All right. If Jouji thinks we should, then I will." She took Tatsuya's hand and headed off.

When they reached the space where they had room to dance, Tatsuya recovered enough to hold her properly and lead. After a few minutes, Masaki noticed Tatsuya blushing. _Boys have some mysterious solidarity with each other about girls, don't they? Jouji feels sorry for you for falling in love with me. Well, I guess dancing with you isn't so bad._

She couldn't help looking over her shoulder at Kichijouji. He'd already been swamped by dance partners begging for turns.

Tatsuya didn't seem to notice her distraction.

Kichijouji danced with a steady stream of girls from Third High, some of whom had crushes on him and some of whom were his friends. At the same time, Kichijouji noticed at least three First High girls glaring at Masaki and gazing wistfully at Tatsuya, not the least of which was Shiba Miyuki. _Well, Tatsuya. It's not like you won't get a wife in the end. You're building yourself a little harem, even without meaning to. One that includes your own sister, for some weird reason._

The sister in question continued to stare at Tatsuya and Masaki as they danced again and again, Masaki's uniform skirt billowing as they twirled through the room. The longer Tatsuya and Masaki danced, and the longer Tatsuya gazed at Masaki with a faint blush and smile, the tighter Miyuki's shoulders grew. Even from where he danced, Kichijouji could see her shoulders inching toward her ears with tension. Her fists were clenched, and a deep frown was etched on her face.

Kichijouji grew so uncomfortable with Miyuki's clear fury that he had to look away.

Finally, Kichijouji had enough of dancing with other girls. He caught Masaki's gaze, tilted his head toward the terrace doors, and then slipped out of the room. He retreated to the hotel's massive water fountain, which was lit beautifully, and waited for Masaki to catch up to him.

Masaki followed only a couple minutes later. She'd left Tatsuya surrounded by blushing girls, and Miyuki had immediately clung to Tatsuya's arm.

Masaki sighed with relief at the cool, damp night air. The sight of Kichijouji by the fountain was so romantic it caused a catch in her throat. She stepped up beside Kichijouji and took his hand. "Hey." She smiled at him softly. "You have a kind heart."

Kichijouji blushed. "Well, I know how I would feel if I were Shiba." He raised Masaki's hand and kissed it. Then he steeled himself and took the plunge. "I love you more than anyone in the world, and I have since the day you and your family saved me on Sado Island. I would do anything for you. Please be my girlfriend."

A beautiful smile bloomed on Masaki's face. "Of course." She leaned in and pressed a kiss to Kichijouji's lips.

Kichijouji felt warmth rush through his chest, and he had the fleeting thought that he could die right in this moment and still be happy.

The music shifted, and Kichijouji recognized the first song he'd listened to with Masaki, three days after he'd come to live in Masaki's house.

Masaki's eyes stung. "It's that song. The song that played the first time you really able to sleep." She looked into Kichijouji's eyes. "Let's dance. This is meant for us."

"Do you want to go back inside?" Kichijouji murmured.

"No. Let's not waste any time," Masaki said. She placed her hand on his shoulder. "Let's dance right here."

Kichijouji immediately pulled Masaki into his arms, resting his hand on her waist and lifting her hand to shoulder height. Then he began their dance, gazing up into Masaki's beautiful, blue-green eyes and smiling. _Yes. Give me my happily ever after._

Masaki whirled in Kichijouji's arms. They seemed suspended in time. Behind them, the fountain shot higher, changing color, and seemed to dance along with them.

The night was truly magical.

* * *

 _ **Postscript A/N**_ _: Originally, I had meant for this story to only be two chapters. However, I'm inspired to write more, using the vacation chapter that comes next in the light novel and the Yokohama Harbor incident that was also included in the anime. So I'm off to consider how Tatsuya's crush will play out, what Miyuki's ultimate reaction to this night will be, and all sorts of other goodies._


End file.
